AMR Chairman Receives Canada`s Highest

24 January 2003

Responding to an announcement that he has been appointed an officer of The Order of Canada, that nation’s highest honor for lifetime achievement, AMR Chairman and CEO Donald Carty greeted the news with expressions of pride and profound humility.

“There is no greater honor for a Canadian in civilian life than to have his or her accomplishments recognized with The Order of Canada,” Carty said. “It is a badge of very special distinction, and I accept it with an enormous sense of pride and genuine gratitude to those who saw me fit for this honor. I also accept it in the name of American Airlines, whose people have served Canada since the earliest days of commercial aviation and have strengthened the cultural and economic ties between Canada and the United States.”

Since its inception in 1967, more than 4,000 individuals have been appointed to The Order of Canada on the recommendation of an Advisory Council chaired by the Chief Justice of Canada. There are three categories of membership: Member, Officer and Companion. Mr. Carty’s appointment as Officer was announced on Jan. 17 by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada.

In its announcement, The Order provided this description of its honor to Mr. Carty:

“A leader in the Canadian and American aviation industries, he is recognized as an advocate of an ‘open skies’ policy between Canada and the United States. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AMR Corporation and American Airlines, Inc., he played a lead role in the ratification of bilateral air agreements, providing airline carriers in both countries access to new markets and improving transborder service to travellers.”

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The Order also noted that Mr. Carty has supported his alma mater, Queen’s University, taking steps that “will enhance its international reputation as a pre-eminent centre for advanced learning for years to come.”